RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Prevalence of toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes (TORCH) infections among women attending the antenatal care clinic, maternity hospital in Abha, Southwestern Saudi Arabia
JF Saudi Medical Journal
JO Saudi Med J
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 757
OP 762
DO 10.15537/smj.2020.7.25121
VO 41
IS 7
A1 Al-Hakami, Ahmed M.
A1 Paul, Esther
A1 Al-Abed, Faten
A1 Alzoani, Ahmad A.
A1 Shati, Ayed A.
A1 Assiri, Mohammad I.
A1 Qasim, Asim A.
A1 Riaz, Fatima
A1 Moosa, Riyad A.
A1 Chandramoorthy, Harish C.
YR 2020
UL http://smj.org.sa/content/41/7/757.abstract
AB Objectives: To investigate the presence of toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes (TORCH) infections in women attending at the antenatal care clinic in Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).Methods: A total of 190 blood samples were collected from Abha maternity hospital in Aseer region, KSA, from February 2018 to May 2019 and screened with the TORCH panel (toxoplasmagondii [IgG/IgM], cytomegalovirus [CMV] [IgG/IgM], rubella [IgG/IgM], and herpes simplex type 1 and 2 [IgG/IgM]).Results: The mean age was 31.42±6.514 years and gestational age was 32.48±6.168 weeks. Serum IgG was positive for Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) (27.4%), herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) (94.7%), herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2) (0.5%), CMV (100%), and rubella (88.9%). Serum IgM was positive only for CMV (9.5%). Though, there was an association between abortions from previous pregnancies (26.5%), intrauterine death (5.8%), premature labor (3.2%), microcephaly (1.6%), other congenital diseases (1.6%) and low birth weight (0.5%) with current IgG positivity for TORCH infections, the results were not statistically significant.Conclusion: Seropositivity for IgG antibodies correlate with TORCH-associated pregnancy complications in Abha, KSA; however, IgM positive CMV pregnant cases warrant further systematic investigation to understand the implications of CMV on outcomes during pregnancy.